Door latch mechanism



Jan. 7, 1958 H. G. SHAW EI'AL 2 DOOR LATCH MECHANISM Filed April 26 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS Jan. 7, 1958 H. G. SHAW ETAL 2,818,722

DOOR LATCH MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 26, 1955 I W ATTORNEYS Jan. 7, 1958 H. G. SHAW ETAL Filed April 26, 1955 DOOR LATCH MECHANISM ATTORNEYS 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent DOOR LATCH MECHANISM Herbert .G...Shaw and Nathan Ku'lbersh, West Haven,

Cnnm, assignorsrto Sargent &Com pany, New Haven, Conn.,.a corporation of Connecticut Application April 26, 1955, Serial No; 503,972

14-Claimst (Cl;70--146) Also it is desirable to provide latching mechanism of such a character that it may be readily applied to the door witha minimum amount of labor and preferably without'the necessity ofmortising In addition the parts of" the latch mechanism should provide for adjustment so that they may be" mounted upon doors of varying thickness and preferably the structure, which in this instance consists of outside and inside units, should be such as topermit assembly ofthe parts in the factory so-thatit is only necessaryt'o mount the two parts upon the door without the performance of any assembly operations whenthe parts are mounted.

In addition it is desirable that the mounting means beaccessible from the inside only so that the mechanism cannot be removed to permit unwarranted access from the'outside and,whenlocked from the inside, the mechanism should permitofbeingunlocked from the outside by theoperationof akey, if' d'esired.

One object of the present inventionis to provide a latch mechanism, particularly for doors of'relatively light weight, which may be readily'assembl'ed upon the door without the necessity ofmortising'.

A- -further object of the invention is toprovide a latch bol'tmechanism of the character described which consistsof inside and outside units, the parts ofwhich may be assembled at the factory and; which may be mounted upon the door with a minimumpf l'abor.

Still another objectof the invention is the provision of' a latch mechanism of the character described which may be of simple construction; 'economicallymanufactured'; and which, while providing for opening of the door at all times fromthe inside, will have provision for locking the door against entrance from the outside. Still another object of the invention is the provision of a latch mechanism" of the character described which willprovide for operation: of the latchmechanism from theoutside of: the door either by a push button or a cylinder'lock, as desired. I

To these' and otherendsthe inventionconsists in the novel features and combinations of parts to be hereinafter described and claimed Iii-the accompanying drawings:

' Fig. 1 is-a-topplan viewoffthelatch mechanism shown mounted upon' a door anddoor-jamb';

Fig. 2" is a sectional View on line 2--2 of" Fig. l'; Fig. 3 is a' sectional viewon line3+3of5Fig Zshowing the" parts in the position occupied when the door is closed? i Fig. 4 is a view .similar to Fig. 3 showing the parts in the-position occupied when the door is being opened from the inside;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through a portion of the outside unit online 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the unit at the inside of the door;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on line '7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a detail elevational view of the spring mechanism; and

Fig. 9 is a view of the outside unit partly in section showing the substitution ofa push button for the cylinder lock shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

To illustrate a preferred embodiment of our invention there is shown in the drawings a portion of a door 1 0 and a cooperating door jamb 11. Upon the latter is mounted a strike mechanism comprising a plate 12 secured to the door jamb by screws 13 which 'are in'serted throughelongated slots 14 of the plate in order that this mechanism may be adjusted to someextent'toward and from the door.

Upon the plate 12 is the projecting strike member 15 which, as shown in Fig. 11, cooperates with the latch bolt to be hereinafter described to hold the door in closed position.

The mechanism comprises two units, an inside unit designated generally by the numeral 16 and an outside unit designated by the-numeral. 17. The inside unit cornprises a hollow cast body portionor housing 18 formed integrally with a base portion 19 having thereon hollow studs 20' adapted to project into openings 21 bored in the door. Likewise the outside unit comprises a hollow cast body portion or shell 22having a base 23 provided with hollow interiorly threaded studs 24 projecting into the openings 21 sothat screws 25 inserted through the studs 20 may bethreadedly received in the studs 24 to secure the two' units upon thedoor.

Pivoted to the body 18 of the inner'unit at- 27 is the inside operating handle 28-, whichv handle is maintained in its normal position, shown in Figs.v l and 3, by one end of a spring 29 carried by the pivot pin 27, the other end of which bears against a portion 30 of the latch body. Also pivoted upon the pivot pin 27 is a release lever 31-, one end 32 of which stands a position adjacent the inner surface of the handle 28 so as to be operated thereby when the handle is swung about its pivot. A spring 33 also wrapped around the pivot pin 27 has one end bearing against the end 32 of the release lever to urge it toward the handle and the other end of this spring bears against the member 30 of the casing or shell 18 previously described. The release lever 31 is also provided with a lug 34 adapted to engage the member 30 to limit the movement of the lever in one direction.

At the inner end of the: release lever 31 is provided a stop or shoulder 36- adapted to stand: behind the outer ear 37 of a rocking latch bolt 38, substantially triangular in cross section, having; beveled edges 39 and 40 so that when the parts are inthe position of Fig. 3, the ear 37 will be held against the wall of the. shell or casing 18. At the other side of the latch bolt a corresponding car 41 is provided, this. car also being adapted to bear against the wall of the shell 18. The free end of a spring 42" bears against the base of the latch bolt 38, approximately cent-rally 'thereof, tourge it outwardly through an opening 43 m the shell-18, the bolt being provided with a recess 44. to' receive the end of the spring. The inner end of the casing is provided with a retaining plate 45 to which theother end of the spring. 42 is fixed.

With this construction it" will be: apparent that the spring 42 normally holds the" latch bolt in: the position the beveled surface 40 of the bolt in a direction toward the left, as shown in Fig. 3, the bolt will be adapted to rock about the ear 37, as shown for example in dotted lines in this figure, so that when the door is closed, the latch bolt will be retracted to permit this closing without movement of the release lever. On the other hand, when the release lever is moved to the position shown in Fig. 4 by movement of the handle 28 about the pivot pin 27, the bolt will be free to rock about the car 41, as shown in Fig. 4, when outward pressure is applied to the door and thus permit opening of the door. The spring 42 will, of course, resist either of these rocking movements and will restore the latch bolt to its normal protracted position, the spring engaging the bolt at about the center of its base.

After the handle and release lever have been moved to the positions shown in Fig. 4, they will be restored to their normal positions by the springs 29 and 33 when the handle is released.

Slidably mounted within the housing or shell 18 is a yoke 46, this yoke being bifurcated or of U-shaped form as shown and bearing against the handle 28 at its free ends, as shown at 47. At the other end the bight portion 43 of this yoke member is engaged by one end of a connecting bar 49 which passesthrough an opening 50 in the door and into the housing 22 of the outer unit.

Within the housing 22 is a cup-shaped member 51 secured in place by the retaining plate 52, this cup-shaped member acting as a guide for a compression spring 53 and also for a sleeve member 54 secured by a pin 55 to the key barrel 56 of a cylinder lock mechanism 57 slidably mounted within the housing 22. The cup-shaped member 51 is provided with an opening 58 through which the bar 49 passes, and the outer end of the bar also passes through a'winged opening 59 (Fig. in a disk 60 nonrotatably carried by the sleeve 54.

As stated, the cylinder lock mechanism including the key barrel is slidably mounted in the housing 22 so that the lock mechanism may be moved inwardly as a push button might be to move the bar 49 inwardly and thus move the yoke 46 to swing the inner handle 28 about its pivot and withdraw the shoulder 36 of the release lever 31 from engagement with the ear 37. Thus to open the door from the outside the operator takes hold of the handle 62 which is formed integrally with the outer housing 22 and pushes with his thumb upon the cylinder lock mechanism 57, thus releasing the latch bolt 38 so that upon a pull upon the handle 62, the latch bolt will be swung about the ear 41, as shown in Fig. 4.

Means are provided for locking the door against entrance from the outside without the use of a key. For this purpose the connecting bar 49 is provided at its inner end (the end at the inside of the door) with a lateral L-shaped extension 63 adapted to extend outwardly through an elongated opening 64 in the shell or housing 18. Upon the outer face of the housing 18 is provided a locking slide 65, this slide being held in place by headed rivets 66 which pass through elongated openings 67 in the slide and are secured in lugs 68 of the housing, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. This slide is provided with an elongated opening 69 to receive the laterally turned end 63 of the connecting bar.

A spring plate 70, shown more especially in Figs. 7 and 8, is positioned between the slide and the housing 18, this plate being provided with bowed ends 71 resting against the plate 19, the intermediate portion of this member resiliently holding the locking slide 65 in the position to which it is moved. This plate, as shown in Fig. 8, is provided with an L-shaped slot 72, some part of which will be in registration with the slot 69 of the locking slide 65.

When the locking slide is in its upper position, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the laterally turned end 63 of the bar 49 will lie in the upper or wider portion of the opening 72 and, therefore, the bar 49 will be permitted to move longitudinally of the axis of the lock or in a direction to move the yoke 46 to operate the inside handle. However, when the locking slide is moved downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 6, the end 63 of the bar 49 will be moved downwardly into the lower end of the slot 72, as shown at 63* in Fig. 8, so that the connecting bar 49 will be held against movement and it will not be possible to operate the latch from the outside. It will be understood that while the slot 69 is elongated in a direction'to permit longitudinal movement of the bar 49, it will not permit rotative movement of this bar unless the locking slide 65 is moved. The look ing slide will be releasably held in position to which it is moved by the spring plate 70 as was previously described. The retaining plate 45 is provided with a Winged opening 74 through which the bar 49 passes.

If, however, the door has been locked by downward movement of the slide 65 from the inside, it can always be opened from the outside by the use of a key. It may be noted that the winged openings in the disk 60 and plate 45 permit the movement of the arm 63 from one position to either of the other without disturbing these members. Therefore, the locking slide 65 may be operated without rotation of the key barrel 56. However, when the locking slide has been moved downwardly from the position shown in Fig. 7, an operator may with the proper key insert it in the key barrel 56 and by rotation of the key barrel and the disk 60 which is secured thereto, may rotate the bar 49 and thus move the locking slide again to its upper position, shown in Fig. 7, in which position the cylinder lock mechanism may be moved inwardly by the operator as previously described to release the latch bolt from the strike. It is, of course, understood that the latch bolt is never positively retracted but is simply released by the lever 31 so that it is retracted by pressure upon the strike member 15.

In Fig. 9 of the drawingsis shown a modified form of the outer unit of the latch mechanism wherein a push button is substituted for the cylinder lock mechanism shown in the other figures. To this push button is secured a sleeve 81 which is recessed at its inner end, as shown at 82, to telescopically receive the outer end of the connecting bar 49 previously described in connection with the modification shown in Figs. 1 to 8. When the push button 80 is pressed inwardly, the end of the bar 49 will be engaged by the bottom of the recess 82 and moved toward the right, as shown in Fig. 9, to operate the inner handle 28 and release the latch bolt 38 as previously explained. In this case, of course, if the door is locked from the inside by operation of the locking slide 65, it cannot be opened from the outside as there is no provision for rotating the connecting bar 49 by the push button. It will also be understood that when the expression push button is employed, it may refer either to the member 80 shown in Fig. 9 or to the member 57 shown in Fig. 2, as in either case these members act as push buttons, the only dilference being that one is provided with means for rotating the bar 49 while the other is not so provided.

While we have shown and described some preferred embodiments of our invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What We claim is:

1. Door latch mechanism including inside and outside housings, an inside handle pivoted to the inside housing upon an axis parallel to the plane of the door, a latch bolt movably mounted in the inside housing to be pivotally retracted about either of two axes, onerat each side of the bolt, by engagement with one side or the other of the bolt with a door strike, a -release lever pivotally mounted in the inside housing coaxially with said handle to normally engage and prevent retraction of the bolt about one axis, interengaging means. on said handle and said lever to move the latter to position to disengage the bolt upon movement of the handle, and outside operating means carried by the outside housing to move said inside operating handle.

2. Door latch mechanism including inside. andv outside housings, an inside handle pivoted to the inside housing upon an axis parallel to. the plane of the door, av latch bolt movably mounted in the inside housing to be pivotally retracted about either of two axes, one at each side of the bolt, by engagement with one side or the other of the bolt with a door strike, a. release. lever pivotally mounted in the inside housing to normally engage and prevent retraction of the boltabout one axis, interengaging means on said handle and said lever to move the latter to position to disengage the bolt uponmovement of the handle, outside operating means carried by the outside housing to move said inside operating handle about its pivot, and means to prevent operation of said outside operating means while permitting movement of said inside handle.

3. Door latch mechanism including inside and outside housings, an inside handle pivoted tov the inside, housing upon an axis parallel to the plane of the door, a latch bolt movably mounted in the inside housing, to be pivotally retracted about either of two axes, oneat each side of the bolt, by engagement with one side or the otherof the bolt with a door strike, a. release lever pivotally mounted in the inside housing; to normally engage and prevent retraction of the bolt about one axis,.interengaging means on said handle and said lever to move the latter to position to disengage the bolt upon movement of the handle, outside operating means carried by the outside housing to move said inside operating handle about its pivot, means to prevent operation of said outside operating means while permitting movement of said inside handle, said means including a locking slide carried by the inside housing.

4. Door latch mechanism including inside and outside housings, an inside handle pivoted to the inside housing on an axis parallel to the plane of the door, a latch bolt movably mounted in the inside housing to be pivotally retracted about either of two axes, one at each-side of the bolt, by engagement with one side or the other of the bolt with a door strike, a release lever pivotally mounted in the inside housing to normally engage and prevent retraction of the bolt about one axis, means connecting said handle to said-lever to move the latter to position to disengage the bolt upon movement of the handle, a member slidably mounted in the inside housing and connected to said release lever to actuate the same, and meansmounted in said outside housing and extending horizontally through the door into the inside housing to engage and actuate said member.

5. Door latch mechanism including inside and outside housings, an inside handle pivoted to the inside housing, a latch bolt movably mounted in the inside housing to be pivotally retracted about either of two axes, one at each side of the bolt, by engagement with one side or the other of the bolt with a door strike, a release lever pivotally mounted in the inside housing to normally engage and prevent retraction of the bolt about one axis, means connecting said handle to said lever to move the latter to position to disengage the bolt upon movement of the handle, a member slidably mounted in the inside housing and connected to said release lever to actuate the same, an axially and rotatably movable bar adapted to pass through a door into the outside housing and engaging said slidable member, means carried by the outside housing for axially moving said bar, means for restraining said bar against axial movement in one position to which it is rotated, and means for rotating said bar to such position.

6. Door latch mechanism including inside and outside housings, an inside handle pivoted to the inside housing, a latch bolt movably mounted in the inside housing tobe pivotally retracted about either of two axes, one at each side of the bolt, by engagement with .one side or the other of the bolt with a door strike, a release lever pivotally mounted in the inside housing to normally engage and prevent retraction of the bolt about one axis, means connecting said handle to said lever .to. move the latter to position to disengage the .bolt' upon movement of the handle, a member slidably mountednin .theinside. housing and connected to said release lever to actuate the same, an axially and rotatably movable :bar adapted to: pass through a door into theoutsidehousing and engaging said slidable member, means carried by the outside housing for axially moving said bar, said bar having laterally turned end, means providing an vL-shaped opening in the inside housing into which said end projects, and means for rotating said bar to. move said end? intoa narrow part of said opening whereby said bar is restrained tromuaxial movement.

7. Door latch mechanism including inside and outside housings, an inside handle pivoted to: the inside housing; a latch bolt movably mounted in the inside housing to be pivotally retracted about either of two axes, one at each side of the bolt, by engagement with one side or the other of the bolt with a door. strike, a release lever pivotally mounted in the inside housing to normally engage and prevent retraction of the bolt about one axis, means connecting said handle to said lever to: move the latter to position to disengage the bolt upon movement of the handle, a member slidably mounted in. the inside housing and connected to said release lever to actuate the same; an axially movable bar adapted to pass through a door into the outside housing and engaging said slidable member, means carried by the outside housing'for axially'moving said bar, means for restraining said bar against axial movement in one position to which it is rotated, means carried by the inside housing for rotating said bar to such position, and key-operated lock mechanism carried by the outside housing and connected to said bar to return it to its original position wherein said bar is capable of axial movement.

8. Door latch mechanism including inside and outside housings, an inside handle pivoted to the inside housing, a latch bolt movably mounted in the inside housing to be pivotally retracted about either of two axes, one at each side of the bolt, by engagement with one side orthe other of the bolt with a door strike, a release lever pivotally mounted in the inside housing tonormally engage and prevent retraction of the bolt about one axis, means connecting said handle to said lever tomove the latter to position to disengage the bolt uponmovement of the handle, a member slidably mounted in the inside housing and connected to said release leverto actuate the same; an axially movable bar adapted to pass through a door into the outside housing and engaging said slidable member, means carried by the outside housing for .axia l-ly'moving said bar, means for restraining said bar against axial movement in one position to which it is rotated, means carried by the inside housing for rotating said bar to such position, key-operated lock mechanism carried by the outside housing and connected to said bar to return it to its original position wherein said bar is capable of axial movement, and said lock mechanism being slidably mounted in the outside housing and adapted when slidably moved to engage and actuate said bar.

9. Door latch mechanism including inside and outside housings, an inside handle pivoted to the inside housing, a latch bolt movably mounted in the inside housing to be pivotally retracted about either of two axes, one at each side of the bolt, by engagement with one side or the other of the bolt with a door strike, a release lever pivotally mounted in the inside housing to normally engage and prevent retraction of the bolt about one axis, means connecting said handle to said lever to move the latter to position to disengage the bolt upon movement of the handle, and a yoke member slidably mounted in the inside housing with its outer end engaging the handle at one side of the handle pivot to actuate the handle, and a depressible member mounted in the outside housing to move said yoke member.

10. Door latch mechanism comprising inside and outside housings, a bolt of substantially triangular shape in cross section carried by said inside housing and projecting through an opening therein to engage a door strike, said bolt having a laterally projecting ear at each side thereof bearing against the edges of said opening, spring means within said inside housing normally urging said ears against the edges of the opening, a release lever pivoted in the inside housing and having a shoulder engaging one of said ears on the side opposite that engaged by the inside housing to maintain said ear against the inside housing, a handle pivoted to the inside housing upon an axis parallel to the surface of the door and adapted when i moved to engage and operate said release lever to a position to disengage the ear of said bolt and permit pivoting of the latter about the other ear, a longitudinally movable bar adapted to pass through a door and projecting at its ends into each of said housings, one end of said bar being adapted to actuate said pivoted handle and move said release lever, and means in the outside housing to actuate said bar.

11. Door latch mechanism comprising inside and outside housings, a bolt of substantially triangular shape in cross section carried by the inside housing and projecting through an opening therein to engage a door strike, said bolt having a laterally projecting car at each side thereof bearing against the edges of said opening, spring means within said inside housing normally urging said ears against the edges of the opening, a release lever pivoted in the inside housing and having a shoulder engaging one of said ears on the side opposite that engaged by the inside housing to maintain said ear against the inside housing, a handle pivoted to the inside housing and adapted when moved to engage and operate said release lever to a position to disengage the ear of said bolt and permit pivoting of the latter about the other car, a longitudinally and rotatably movable bar adapted to pass through a door and projecting at its ends into each of said housings, one end of said bar being adapted to actuate said pivoted handle and move said release lever, means in the outside housing to actuate said bar in its longitudinal movement, means for restraining said bar against longitudinal movement in one position to which it may be rotated, and means to rotate said bar to such position.

12. Door latch mechanism comprising inside and outside housings, a bolt of substantially triangular shape in cross section carried by the inside housing and projecting through an opening therein to engage a door strike, said bolt having a laterally projecting ear at each side thereof bearing against the edges of said opening, spring means within said inside housing normally urging said ears against the edges of the opening, a release lever pivoted in the inside housing and having a shoulder engaging one of said ears on the side opposite that engaged by the inside housing to maintain said ear against the inside housing, a handle pivoted to the inside housing and adapted when moved to engage and operate said release lever to a position to disengage the ear of said bolt and permit pivoting of the latter about the other ear, a longitudinally and rotatably movable bar adapted to pass through a door and projecting at its ends into each of said housings, one end of said bar being adapted to actuate said pivoted handle and move said release lever, means in the outside housing to actuate said bar in its longitudinal movement, means for restraining said bar against longitudinal movement in one position to which it may be rotated, means for rotating said bar to such position, and key-operated means in said outside housing to reversely rotate said bar to a position in which it is permitted longitudinal movement.

13. Door latch mechanism including a housing adapted to be mounted on the inside of the door, an inside handle pivoted to said ho using on an axis parallel to the plane of the door, a latch bolt movably mounted in said inside housing to be pivotally retracted about either of two axes, one at each side of the bolt, by engagement with one side or the other of the bolt With a door strike, a release lever pivotally mounted in the housing coaxially with said handle to normally engage and prevent retraction of the bolt about one axis, and interengaging means on said handle and lever to move the latter to position to disengage the bolt upon movement of the handle.

14. Door latch mechanism including a housing adapted to be mounted on the inside of the door, an inside handle pivoted to said housing, a latch bolt movably mounted in said housing to be pivotally retracted about either of two axes, one at each side of the bolt, by engagement with one side or the other of the bolt with a door strike, a release lever pivotally mounted in the housing to normally engage and prevent retraction of the bolt about one axis, interengaging means on said handle and lever to move the latter to position to disengage the bolt upon movement of the handle, and means pivoting said handle to the housing on a vertical axis parallel to the plane of the door, and said handle actuating the release lever by movement of one end thereof toward the door.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 956,947 Curlett May 3, 1910 1,184,498 Wells May 23, 1916 1,244,443 Hurd Oct. 23, 1917 FOREIGN PATENTS 7,610 Great Britain May 12, 1884 1,777 Great Britain Feb. 9, 1885 

